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Grow your own hops

You don’t have to be a beer maker to enjoy growing your own hop vines. Hops are vining hardy perennials that arise from an underground root “rhizome.”

While most people grow hops to harvest the leaf-​​like “cones” for making beer, it is also an attractive easy to grow ornamental vine. The cones are actually the female flower of the plant and it resembles a small green pine cone. Hop plants tolerate a variety of soil conditions, but prefer sunny areas and a trellis or wall on which to grow.

A hop cone is actually its female flower

Hops are dioecious, meaning they have separate male and female plants. The best way to start is to order female hop plants or rhizomes from any number of suppliers and plant companies. Most suppliers only sell female plants as only the female vines produce the iconic hop cones which are ornamental and also used for brewing. Male plants have no commercial value. Good variety selections include: “Redvine” and “Cascade.”